About Round Table India
The Round Table is internationally a friendship organisation, founded in Norwich, England by Louis Marchesi, then a Rotarian in 1927. From a small group of 8 members, today it has grown to 43,000 members across 52 countries representing every corner of the world. Round Table came to India in 1957 with the formation of Madras Round Table No 1 on November 14th 1962 by John Barton with 100 members. Over the past four decades it has grown to become a 2,850 member strong association.
From the day of its inception, Round Table has been a non-religious, non-political and non-sectarian organisation offering its members the best opportunity to connect with each other, have fun whilst giving something back to their community.
The young business professional men of Round Table India get together round the table, adopt methods that proved good in the past, adapt them to the changing times and wherever possible, improve them, emphasizing the speech of the Prince of Wales. The phrase ‘Adopt, Adapt and Improve’ is a key facet of the organisation.
Round Table India has around 200 Tables located in 76 cities and towns, comprising of businessmen, entrepreneurs, technocrats and professionals, men who can rise above personal concerns to seek and serve the larger needs of the community.
On the administration front, Round Table India has a very active National Board, which guides the affairs of the association. Round Table India is divided into 11 Areas, which have their own Area Board to administer them. The National Secretariat, the hub of all activities of Round Table India, is located at Chennai.
Round Table India foundation is a trust formed in April 1980. In recent years, RTIF is extending support to projects taken by the Ladies Circle India and RTI national projects.
History
John Barton was instrumental in setting up the 1st Round Table in India.
The Madras Round Table #1 was formed on 14th November 1962. John Barton was in Madras, an active Rotarian then, who also remarked later about young men feeling stifled in Rotary. In England John Barton was introduced to the Round Table movement, a movement which was then about thirty years old in Britain. Feeling an immediate empathy with the aims and objects of Round Table, he set about discovering whether he could import this movement into India. And so it happened that when John Barton returned to Madras, he brought Tabling with him. It was a tentative beginning. Barton brought together some of his friends and the sons of some of his friends in Rotary. There were eight invitees at the first primary contact meeting where he put forth his idea to build on. Among the eight were Ram Phadke, P.A. Ethiraj, S.A. Patel and Krish Chitale. The birth place of the Round Table in India was Barton’s residence, Hadley, a charming colonial house in Kilpauk. When Madras Round Table 1 was formed the sponsor was Hastings Round Table in England, through which John Barton had first been introduced to the movement.
Round Table now flourishes in the majority of European countries, throughout Africa, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand and America. Over the recent few years it has expanded in Asia with new clubs being formed in Colombo, Nepal, Russia, Bangladesh and Singapore. From a very early stage it was agreed that Round Table would be a non-political, non-religious, and non-sectarian club and this has continued to the current day.
Currently, in Round Table India, there are more than 200 Tables located in 76 cities and towns, comprising of businessmen, entrepreneurs, technocrats and professionals. Men who can rise above personal concerns to seek and serve the larger needs of the community. On the administration front, Round Table India has a National Board, which guides the affairs of the association. Round Table India is divided into 11 Areas, which have their own Area Board to administer them.
Aims and objects of Round Table India
- To develop the fellowship of young men through the medium of their business and professional occupations and community service activities.
- To encourage active and responsible citizenship by cultivating the highest ideals in business, professional and civic traditions.
- To promote and further international understanding friendship and co-operation.
- To promote the extension of the association.
RTI in a Nutshell
- Young Men’s Club consisting of Successful Businessmen and Professionals.
- Key Objective of Community Service focusing on Building Infrastructure for Education of Underprivileged Children.
- Key Opportunities for Members of RTI for Personal and Professional Growth and Networking.
Facets
FELLOWSHIP is one of the corner-stones on which the Tabling movement is built; it is Friendship, it is Honesty with your peers, it is enlargement of perspective, and it is also the force behind the similarity of roots. It is not a ritual or an end in itself; it is the means to a larger purpose in life. When one enjoys the company of their friends, the group can achieve wonders in performing Community Service.
The Round Table movement offers its members the fellowship of young men from different walks of life. It gives an opportunity to broaden their horizons beyond the borders or race, creed or country and allows interaction with young men of different nationalities. It enables its members and their families to mingle with thousands of other people that belong to the same age group.
Tablers organise get togethers (often called Socials), Festive meets, Picnics, Parents Day, Buddies Night, Men’s Cook Out, Film shows, Sports meets etc., which involve the families. A Tabler enjoys the rare joy of belonging to a socially active international group where everyone is a close friend, and life assumes a new meaning.
Round Table is your passport to instant friendship.
The motto of Round Table India – Adopt, Adapt and Improve, strives to convey the humanitarian spirit of the organisation’s more than 43,000 members. Strong fellowship among Tablers, building a meaningful community, and contributing towards community service projects are elements that characterize Round Table India.
Every person who joins the Tabling movement benefits from it, in tangible and intangible ways. It can be through the avenues of Community Service, through the bonds of Friendship and Fellowship that last a lifetime, or through the self-development and leadership that interaction with peers does brings about. HRD helps hone the development of Tablers and is now an important facet of the Tabling setup.
Round Table India is a network of inspired members who extend and transform their passions to bring about a positive change in the lives of needy people.
As a member of Round Table India, you get an opportunity to become more involved in your community and provide help to other necessitous parts of the world through various possibilities that the Table offers. In the process, you also form strong, long lasting friendships with fellow Tablers and leaders who volunteer their interests and time to serve communities.
Our longtime Tablers unanimously agree that involvement is the primary factor in getting the most out of membership. As a volunteer, you may join a service project or serve a committee that meets your interests. These activities pave a way for you to get to know your fellow Tablers, enrich your personal and professional knowledge, and also better appreciate the work of Round Table India.
We warmly welcome you to join or refer friends to Round Table India.
Round Table India is primarily a Fellowship organisation which is also involved in social service. Our Motto is Freedom Through Education, which provides us a platform to be recognised in building schools for the children at places where it is most required. We have spent around Rs.75/- crores in various school projects all over India in the last eight years and have built more than 2500 classrooms.
Round Table India has been enjoying support from big personalities who have been associated with us in doing Fund Raising programmes, inaugurating schools built by us and even being our Brand Ambassadors. This shows the value of the activities that Round Table is involved in.
Amongst the various personalities who have supported us include Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former President of India who had very high words of praise in the activities of Round Table India while he inaugurated 55 classrooms built by us in Chennai a few months back (click here for details).
Some eminent HRD speakers who have supported us also include Deepak Chopra, Robin Sharma, Shiv Khera, Arindam Chaudhary, etc and all of them had high praise for Round Table India.
It is a matter of great pride that we have big Film Stars and other personalities who have supported us :
A card for a cause; the sale of Round Table India greeting cards is one major source of fundraising for the organization, next to receiving corporate donations.
Every year the Table releases exquisitely designed Greeting Cards for sale to individuals and corporates. The substantial funds we raise from this effort go to fund our community service causes.
Our greeting cards carry the emblem of Round Table India and signify the group’s motto – Adopt, Adapt and Improve, three principles that remain at the heart of the organization. With Round Table India, every little thing that you do will put something back into the community.
The Supply House at Round Table India houses exclusive goods for sale. All items display the Table emblem, and every purchase goes back to fund our community service projects.
We make every effort to ensure that Tablers are provided with a full line of quality supply including clothing, stationeries, gift items and accessories to choose from.
Fundraising is vital to every Tabler. To support all the service oriented activities of RTI, Tablers organise their own fundraising events. The involvement, efforts and financial support that the Tablers have been extending, continue to be the primary source of fundraising for the RTI. Year after year, sustained efforts are put in to support the Table’s community service programs through fundraising in various ways.
Associated Organizations
Round Table India offers opportunities to make new friends, enjoy and serve the community in all stages of life. Round Table, Ladies Circle, Ex-Round Tablers or Square Legs are all part of the Round table family.
Round Table India is not only for men; it also offers opportunities for spouses of tabler’s to get involved and serve the community through Ladies Circle India. With the inception of 41Club of India, tablers who graduate from Round Table can still maintain the friendship and bonds built over their tabling years. The provide great support to the tabling movement with their involvement and contribution to Round Table India. These clubs remain true to their vision in performing community services through fellowship.
Ladies’ Circle was founded in 1932. It is a social networking organisation for young women aged between 18 and 45. LC aims at community service as well as promotion of friendship, at local, national and international levels. Although members of this Circle (called “Circlers”) were the wives of Tablers (of the Round Table), in 1993 this changed and membership was open to any woman between 18 and 45. Ladies’ Circle works very closely with Round Table but they are a totally independent organisation. Ladies Circle India is a part of Ladies Circle International which is an International consortium of Clubs similar to the Round Table.
LC strive to be non-political and non-sectarian and to participate wherever possible in community service. They also promote the extension of Circles throughout India.
Visit Ladies Circle India for more information.
The Round Table was formed in 1927, exclusively for young men age between 18 and 40, to offer young men the same privileges offered by clubs like the Rotary Club. The retiring tablers were called “honorary members” and they stayed on with the RTI. Later, in early 1940s, a separate club called 41 club was formed for ex-tablers or old tablers. An association of the 41 clubs – called ‘The Association of Ex-Round Tablers’ Clubs, was established in 1945 and then the 41 Club International was formed in 1975.
The prime objective of this 41 Club International is to maintain contacts between clubs and their members throughout the world. They also strive to maintain the bonds of friendship between all Ex-Tablers. There are approximately 50,000 members. The club has a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary/Treasurer and an Immediate Past President.
Visit Ex-tablers club website for more information.
